this is a dare i can accept
by DarkAngelOfSorrowReturns
Summary: Lysander has plans he'll accomplish by any means.


Lysander had been fiddling with the ring box in his pocket for months. He'd take it out one minute then put it right back into his pocket the next. As long as he kept it out of Molly's sight, that's all that mattered.

She was his light, his muse, his reason to smile, but nothing was coming to him on how to properly propose to her. He thought about the candlelit dinner, the surprise in a box or glass of bubbly, even in a gift box under the pretense of something else.

Nothing stuck, and nothing was inspiring him in the slightest. Something would have to be done. He didn't want to wait forever and she slip through his fingers.

So here he was at the beginning of another week, trying to figure out how he was going to propose to the love of his life with a friend and his brother.

"You're Lysander Scamander, and you can't think of anything creative for a proposal?" Louis asked.

Lysander huffed and crossed his arms. "Well, what do you expect? Those ideas go to creatures and projects. Thankfully the trickster aspect only went through to Lorcan."

"Oi," Lorcan spoke up, ruffling his blonde hair, "I heard that."

"You were meant to hear it, brother," Lysander replied with an eyeroll. "Now help me come up with something that won't complete suck. I want to knock Molly's socks off."

"What if you went in Mum's creature collection and-"

"Are you out of your mind?" Lysander demanded after interrupting his brother. "I'm trying to surprise her in a good way! Molly would have a heart attack if I used the creatures Mum has caught in any fashion."

Louis had been listening, and he tapped on his chin thoughtfully. "Well, mate, I think I know what we need here that we're missing."

Lysander raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"We need a woman's opinion on this."

"So you're saying our opinion sucks," Lorcan piped in.

Louis nodded with no hesitation, running his hand through his strawberry blond hair. "Precisely. I've heard my mother say this all the time, and given the years we spend in Hogwarts, I know it's true: when it comes to romance and intimate gift giving, women know what they want even if they don't tell you."

"You shouldn't be hanging around women so much, Louis," Lorcan said with a smirk, "people could talk."

"That I could get more women than you?" Louis asked. "Yes, let's hear people talk about that."

Lorcan didn't say anything else, merely puffing his cheeks with blush covering them. Lysander scratched his head.

"Right…" Lysander said as he cleared his throat. "So about this woman thing, what do you want to do?"

"I'll call my sister, of course," Louis answered. Lysander went to protest, but Louis held his hand up. "I'm talking about Dominique. Victorie would be an absolute nightmare if I told her prematurely. We all know how she is about secrets."

Lysander thought it over. He didn't have anymore good ideas, and Louis seemed to be on to something. It was better than nothing.

* * *

Wednesday had come, and the Scamander twins were sitting in Louis' flat he shared with his sister. Lysander was sitting on the couch, waiting for Dominique's grand scheme that would get the results he wanted.

"You have to think outside the box," she told him. "Doing the whole cliche thing is going to be such a drag, and you'll never thing you've done it right."

Lysander nodded along as Dominique gave him the advice.

"Thank you, Dominique," he said, "is that how your fiance proposed?"

Dominique waved her hand dismissively and laughed. "Heavens, no, he went all traditional. It's what I wanted, but knowing Molly like I do, she's going to love something different."

"I think I'll have better luck now that I've gotten a woman's insight on the matter," Lysander said.

"Yes," Dominique replied. "Now, a little hint. Try getting a game together. She'll never suspect a thing."

Lysander already had a couple of ideas floating in his mind thanks to that hint. Things were picking back up already.

"Thanks again, Dominique."

She smiled. "Not a problem, Lysander. I'd be happy to throw some ideas out there when the wedding planning approaches," she said with a wink. "So good luck and don't forget: outside the box!"

Lysander smiled and nodded. "I won't forget."

* * *

It was the end of the week, and nighttime had fallen, and the time to begin the party was soon. Lysander was dressed casually; it was a reunion sleepover like old times. No one else would be the wiser when the moment of truth came.

Well, besides the people who had helped him with the plan in the first place.

Gabriel and Nina were the first to arrive. Gabriel took right after his father Justin Finch Fletchley (dark hair combed to the side, brown eyes, personality, and all), but he was Louis' friend. They both stood by one another in the years they were in Hufflepuff, so it was pleasant to still keep in touch after the fact.

Nina was a lovely blonde who wasn't as nervous as she once was like her father, Neville, but she still had that tendency to blush; and that bashful nature wasn't going anywhere.

Lysander greeted them with Lorcan sitting on the couch in the living room, watching everyone with a bowl of popcorn in his arms.

Scorpius arrived soon afterwards with Rose and Louis in tow. It was surprising to see Scorpius without his best friend, but Lysander wasn't going to say anything.

"Potter couldn't make it. Something about a date with someone named Felicity," Scorpius explained as he entered.

"That explains it," Lysander murmured with a headshake. There was only one more person he was waiting to arrive, and she was the most important one to be there.

As she entered, Lysander couldn't help but be transfixed by her beauty. Her hair was a vibrant red that cascaded past her shoulders; he could run his fingers through them all day. She had small freckles that she hated, but he thought they brought out the blue in her eyes.

"So this sleepover of yours," Molly said, "isn't it a bit juvenile for us to do?"

Lorcan spoke up. "You're never too old for a sleepover," he said, "and besides, we're only in our early twenties. Nothing wrong with pulling the teenager out of us every once in a while."

Lysander clapped his hands together. "And I figured, what better way to have a fun reunion than to start the night with Truth or Dare?"

Scorpius rubbed his hands together slowly. "I'm in."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I have a feeling we're going to be at this all night and forget everything else."

"If that's the case, I'm in," Gabriel piped in.

"I suppose majority rules," Nina added, glancing at everyone.

Molly shrugged. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Let's do it."

Louis simply gave a thumbs up. "Truth or dare sounds fun to start the night off with!"

"We're all on one accord then," Lysander said with a nod. It was working out so well so far, now onto the next phase.

"What if someone doesn't tell the truth?" Nina asked.

"You pansies better tell the truth," Lorcan warned. "We can tell when you lie, so don't get any bright ideas."

The group nodded in agreement as Lorcan began to point at everyone with his finger. "Now let's see who's going to start first." He made a quick spin of his finger at the group, which stopped at Scorpius. "Scorpius, you're the lucky man."

"That's nothing new," Scorpius said with a wicked grin. "Truth or dare, Rose?"

Rose rolled her eyes and folded her arms. With a small hair flip she made her decision. "Truth."

Scorpius tapped his chin. "What is your go-to song for the shower?"

"That's all you got?" Rose said with a snort. "Muggles have the best music, and 'So What' is the best shower song."

Nina giggled at Rose's response before looking down. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Scorpius rolled their eyes at the same time.

"I'll have to listen to that one day," Molly said thoughtfully.

Lysander mentally tucked the information away. It was quite possible that there was going to time he'd need it.

"Boriiing," Lorcan drawled. "Rose, you're up!"

Rose straightened up and cleared her throat. She looked around and stopped at Gabriel.

"Truth or dare, Gabriel?"

With a determined look on his face, Gabriel nodded. "Dare."

"I dare you to tweet about a celebrity crush and tag a family member," Rose said with a large grin on her face.

Gabriel's cheeks tinted the faintest shade of red, but he masked it with the clearing of his throat. "Fine then. I'm not afraid," he said, his voice breaking on his last word. He looked at everyone around as he pulled out his phone.

"And make sure that we see it," Rose added.

Lysander watched Gabriel type away, but he was growing more anxious about when someone would ask him something. Then he could ask Molly, and then he'd be able to do what he's needed to do.

The game had barely started, and it was driving him nuts.

Gabriel passed his phone to Rose, giving a superior look. "Done."

Rose and the others looked into the phone, and within seconds, the group began laughing. Lysander even laughed at what they saw himself.

"What's so funny?" Gabriel questioned.

"Your celebrity crush is Gordon Ramsay?"

Gabriel looked at them with a puzzled expression. "What? He is a remarkable chef, and he takes nothing from others."

"I'm just imagining what your father is going to say when he sees this," Lorcan remarked.

"I-I tagged my sister!" Gabriel defended.

Louis clicked his tongue. "Exactly. Your sister talks more than I do, and not in a a good way."

Gabriel scowled and looked to Lysander. "Truth or dare?" he grunted out.

Finally. In order to conceal his relieved expression, Lysander rubbed his hands together; he was ready to do this for his love. "Truth."

"What's your crush's personality like?" Gabriel asked hesitantly.

"That's a no brainer," Lysander said with a smile. "I'd say you could have done better, but this is just fine."

Gabriel huffed as the others laughed behind him. Lysander cleared his throat and looked at his girlfriend. "My crush's personality is of pure light. She's so smart, beautiful, kind, and everything that I could ever want in a person to spend the rest of my life with."

Molly looked down with a blush as the other females in the room cooed at his words.

"How sweet," Nina said with a soft smile.

"How blaugh," Lorcan retorted.

Lysander rolled his eyes. "Anyway. Molly, truth or dare?"

Molly folded her hands in her lap. "Alright, truth."

Lysander inwardly cursed under his breath. He was hoping for a dare, so he would have to think of a quick truth. "Have you ever been in love?"

The redhead chuckled and gave him a playful wink. "I'm in love now, as you know."

Lysander scratched his head with a sheepish laugh. "I'm very happy to know that."

"Neeext," Lorcan exclaimed.

"You really need to get a girlfriend or something," Scorpius muttered. Rose nodded in agreement.

Molly looked amused. Lysander was too busy waiting for another turn; he would get that proposal.

Molly turned her attention to Scorpius. "Truth or dare, Scorp?"

Scorpius smirked. "Truth."

"Aww, don't trust me?" she taunted. "Or are you too chicken?"

The blond snorted. "Of course I don't trust any kind of dare you threw at me, Weasley," he said. "Last time you tried to make me unspeakable things."

Molly giggled. "But it was only-"

"Unspeakable!"

She laughed. "Alright, alright. Out of everyone in this room, who do you want to make out with the most?" Molly had a mischievous expression on her face, one that Lysander knew all too well.

Scorpius cursed under his breath before squaring his shoulders. "Rose would be the one," he answered.

The redhead in question grinned as she looked at Scorpius, but he tried diverting attention elsewhere. "Alright, Longbottom, since you've been silent with your giggling over there, truth or dare?"

Nina was startled by the sudden attention directed at her, but she kept her composure. "Um, dare?" she said tentatively.

Scorpius had an evil look on his face. "I dare you to run a lap outside the loft in your knickers."

Nina's cheeks went incredibly bright with redness. She stammered, something Lysander hadn't seen done in years. Lorcan and Scorpius catcalled at Nina, making her even more embarrassed.

"What's the penalty for not completing a dare?" she asked softly.

Scorpius huffed. "Who's the chicken now?" he said before shaking his head. "Just fun and games tonight, Longbottom. It's alright; we're all adults here."

"Except you for trying to get her to do it," Louis pointed out.

"Okay, let's get a move on, please," Gabriel interrupted. "It's getting late and I'm wanting to go to sleep at some point."

And the night continued on like that. Everyone would take turns with truth or dare options, and every time Lysander got to Molly, she would pick truth. Truth wasn't so bad, but he couldn't spill what his true intentions were unless she picked a dare.

Which she never did. Lysander could have tugged at his hair for how much it was killing him not to just move on one knee and propose like nothing else was happening.

By the time the game ended, everyone were all sleeping in makeshift cots next to one another on the floor. Lysander was the only one awake, and he was sitting outside, staring at the starry sky.

When he heard soft movement behind him, Lysander turned around and saw Molly right there with a small smile.

"I noticed that you only chose me during the game, Lysander," she said, "and your brows did that little crinkly thing when you're frustrated after the turn was over." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Lysander looked down at the grass and blew out a huge puff of air. He couldn't exactly lie to her; it would do him no good. "I was just hoping you'd have picked dare."

Molly gave him a curiously look. "Why?"

He shook his head. "Because...because I had this really good dare," he answered lamely.

"Ask me then, Lysander," Molly said. "Please."

Lysander scratched his cheek and nodded. "Truth or dare, Molly?"

Molly gave him a soft smile. "Dare."

He proceeded to kneel on one knee, pull the ring box out of his pocket, and look Molly in the eye.

"Molly, I dare you to marry me."

Molly's smile widened, and she kneeled to eye level with Lysander. She cupped his cheeks and kissed him. "It's rather unfair to dare someone into marriage," she replied after pulling away.

"Is it working?" Lysander asked hopefully.

With a grin, Molly nodded. "Yes, it worked this time. I'm not chickening out on this dare anytime soon."

Lysander opened the box and took out the ring, a simple silver band with a blue jewel in the center. He took Molly's hand and slipped the ring on her finger. Once he was finished, Lysander kissed Molly's hand and stood up with Molly in his arms.

"How did you know I'd be the one?" Molly asked, teasing in her tone.

Lysander grinned like a fool. "You were always the one."

He got the woman of his dreams through a simple game of Truth or Dare. He'd have to thank Louis and Dominique for that.

* * *

 **A/N: Written for HSWW (Challenges and Assignments)**

 **Assignment #10 Muggle Music Task 5-2** : Use ONE of the following lyrics in your fic: (1) - Where did you come from, angel? (2) - How did you know I'd be the one? (3) - Did you know you're everything I prayed for?

 **National Photography Month: Visual Anthropology** \- write about friends socializing.

 **Word Count** : 2,585


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